Army Wives
by unknownbyhim22
Summary: Troy's family is known for the courageous men and their skills at basketball. Troy's brothers are all serving in the U.S. Army. Will Troy follow in their footsteps and will Gabriella be able to handle it if he does? Complete Troyella fluff.
1. Family

**Hey everyone! Another new story! This one really excites me. I loved writing complete FLUFFINESS! I hope to hear from my faithful reviewers for Back at East High! This story is dedicated to all of you! Enjoy this chapter!**

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Army Wives

Chapter One

Family

Troy smiled as he looked over at his girlfriend of five years who was leaning against her seat belt, fast asleep. He was driving up to his parents' house to stay there for a while during the summer. They were both going to figure out what they were going to do since they had recently graduated from collage. They were probably going to look for jobs around Albuquerque or for Troy maybe somewhere far away.

Troy was one of four Bolton brothers with the same crystal blue eyes. Their eyes weren't the only thing the same about them though; they were all currently a part of or retired from the U.S. Army. Troy was still deciding if he would be a part of the Bolton tradition and he knew that he would have to leave Gabriella in Albuquerque if that was his choice.

He sighed as he looked back at the road and stopped at a stop sign. The summer sky was bright and clear as the trees swayed in the breeze, carelessly making swaying and swooshing sounds. The grass was bright green and people were running around in the park as Troy past it. He looked back over at Gabriella when he heard her sit up and he smiled at her as she squinted away the bright sun.

"Hey, beautiful." He said with a smirk.

"Hey, handsome." Gabriella said with a smile. "So, I see we're almost there." She said as she looked out of the window at the familiar surrounding.

"Yeah, only a few more minutes." Troy answered as he turned at the light.

"I love coming back to Albuquerque." She said with a laugh.

"It's so high school." Troy said as a grin spread across his face.

"Ahhh high school. You know… without high school we wouldn't be sitting here right now together." Gabriella replied as she looked over at Troy.

"Thank God for high school." Troy answered.

"You're too sweet." She said with a giggle as she opened her window slightly to let a warm breeze blow against her.

Troy and Gabriella sat in silence as they looked out their windows, watching as they came closer to Troy's house. Troy laughed when he saw the smile that appeared on Gabriella's face when he pulled up into his driveway. They each took their bags up to the front door and Troy held the door open for Gabriella as she stepped in.

"Hey, everyone! We're home." Troy said as he shut the door behind them.

They both exchanged a look as they heard footsteps coming from all directions of the house and they smiled when they saw everyone coming toward them.

"Little brother!" Brian, the oldest brother, said as he hugged Troy with a laugh.

"Hey, man! How are you?" Troy asked with a smile.

"Awesome…" He started and then he saw Gabriella smiling at him. "Little sister." He teased as he ruffled Gabriella's bangs before he hugged her.

"You always have to do that, don't you?" She asked with a laugh as she casually fixed her bangs while continuing to hug him.

"Of course." He said with a laugh.

"Are you harassing her, Brian?" His wife Sarah asked him as she came into the foyer with a six year old boy holding onto her hand.

"No, honey." He said with a laugh as he went back to talk to Troy.

"Hey!" She said as she came over to Gabriella. "How are you?"

"I'm great." Gabriella said with a nod. "Hey, Tommy." She said as she looked down at the boy.

"Hi, Gabi-ella." He said with a smile as he looked up at her.

"Troy, Gabi!" Mike, the second oldest brother and his wife Laura said together when they walked into the foyer.

"Hey!" Troy and Gabriella said together with a laugh.

After everyone greeted each other they went into the back where they greeted yet another brother of Troy, Zac, who was with his wife Katie. They were sitting on the swinging bench that was on the deck and they greeted Troy and Gabriella when they came out to the back.

"So, how have you two been? Are you relieved to be out of school?" Zac asked as he put his arm around his wife who was holding their newborn child. It was a boy and Gabriella smiled as she looked at the happy family.

"Definitely." Troy answered with a nod.

Gabriella nodded too and smiled at the people in front of her. The backyard was spacious and had a swing set in the left corner of the lawn. A large tree was in the middle, shading the swing set from the sun. A wooden fence was surrounding the backyard and the large deck only took up a small part of the backyard.

Just as the family was discussing the small baby in Katie's arms, Ben, Brian and Sarah's oldest son walked into the backyard from the back door that lead out to the deck. He smiled shyly as he pulled his Ipod ear phones out of his ears and looked at Troy and Gabriella.

"Hey Uncle Troy, Gabriella." He smiled.

"Hey, Ben! How are you?" Gabriella asked. Ben had always made Gabriella smile when he was around her and Troy knew that Gabriella was very excited to see him.

"I'm okay." He said as he came over to where Troy and Gabriella were sitting and sat in between them, laughing as Troy shot him a quick glare.

"Just okay?" Gabriella asked.

Sarah and Brian seemed to send him a warning look as Mr. and Mrs. Bolton exchanged an amused look. Ben leaned closer to Gabriella's ear and whispered his explanation.

"I'm stuck here _all_ summer." He said in an annoyed voice. "Do you know how many parties I am missing at home?"

Gabriella laughed quietly and nodded.

"I see." She whispered back as she winked at his parents. "I'm sure you'll find something fun to do in this _boring_ place." Gabriella giggled as she looked over at Troy who was smiling at her happily while still listening to the conversation taking place between his parents and siblings.

"Doubt it." He sighed as he scanned the serene landscape of his grandparents' backyard.

"At least you're with your family." Gabriella said with a smile. "That will make it a little better."

"And here I thought you were the cool one of this family." He said with a sarcastic shake of his head.

"I am totally cool. You're just not cool enough to see it." Gabriella laughed as she nudged him on his forearm.

Ben laughed quietly as he put his earphones back in their place and tapped his foot to the music that was playing softly. Troy was now discussing basketball with his brothers and dad and the women rolled their eyes, except for Gabriella who smiled comfortably.

Mrs. Bolton gestured for the women to follow her inside and they got up quietly so they wouldn't interrupt the 'important conversation' between the men. They walked into the kitchen and laughed as an argument broke out outside.

"So, Gabriella, you're even cuter than the last time I saw you!" Laura said in a sing sound voice. "It's been too long."

"I've missed you guys. It feels like I've been gone for forever." Gabriella agreed.

"How long have you and Troy been seeing each other now?" Katie asked.

"Five years." Gabriella nodded as she looked over at Mrs. Bolton and Sarah, the oldest of the women, who were smiling as they listened to her.

"I hear wedding bells." Sarah laughed.

Gabriella blushed and laughed quietly shooting Mrs. Bolton a save-me-from-this-topic look.

"Alright, girls, you're making her feel awkward." Mrs. Bolton smiled with a wink to Gabriella.

"That's because she knows it's true." Katie smiled.

Gabriella continued to blush and shrugged subtly. As the women continued to tease Gabriella about her relationship with Troy, and Gabriella's cheeks became redder by the second, Jake, the newborn baby, started to cry. Katie stood up straight immediately from her leaning position on the counter and walked over to the back door. She looked through the screen door, opened it, and then walked over to Zac.

"Are you scaring our child with the talk of all this basketball?" She asked as she stepped onto the deck.

"Of course not. You're going to be an NBA player, aren't you Jake?" Zac asked his son as he rocked him in his arms.

There was no response only a spit up sound and the sound of Ben letting out a dragged out 'ew' before he rushed inside, getting as far away from the baby mess as he could so he wouldn't be stuck cleaning it up.

Gabriella was in Troy's room after dinner, where they spent most of their time blushing from the constant relationship comments that were made and glancing at each other from across the table. Troy was drying his hair with a cream colored towel as Gabriella opened the window of his room to let in some cool air. She inhaled deeply as Troy passed her, setting his used towel over a chair in the corner of his room.

"Sorry about the comments that my brothers made." He said with a small laugh as he stood next to Gabriella by the window.

"Do you really think I'm not used to it by now? It's routine in the Bolton house." Gabriella giggled as Troy wrapped his arms around her.

"You're definitely right. What was I thinking?" He grinned as he turned her around to face him.

"That I'm just too perfect for words." Gabriella answered sarcastically.

Troy's grin grew wider and he leaned down towards Gabriella and kissed her softly on her lips, telling her that her answer was exactly right without having to use any words at all.

"Are you going to sleep?" Gabriella asked as she looked up at him.

"I think so. That trip tired me out." Troy said as he looked at her as she looked at him.

"Alright, well I'll go to sleep too." Gabriella said as she gave him a quick peck on the lips and headed for the door.

"Uh, Gabi, where are you going?" Troy asked with a confused look as she stepped into the hallway.

"To sleep."

Troy looked from Gabriella to his bed and pointed at it. Gabriella laughed.

"My room is the guest bedroom." She replied.

"Ben's sleeping in there."

"Your dad thought it would help him build character if he slept on the couch." Gabriella answered. "I am officially assigned to the guest bedroom."

"This is ridiculous." Troy stated as he walked toward the hallway, watching Gabriella slowly make her way to the guest bedroom down the hall.

"Hey, it's your family." Gabriella smiled as she turned to face him from her spot by the guest bedroom door.

"I hate my family." Troy joked with a shake of his head.

"Goodnight, Troy." Gabriella whispered as she stepped into her room.

"Night, Gabi." He smiled as he watched her door shut behind her.

He stayed in the hallway for a minute, listening to the house start to become quiet as everyone got ready to go to bed. He heard footsteps downstairs and the muffled sound of a basketball game playing on the TV before he shut his bedroom door, closing out the sounds as he walked to his bed.

He sighed deeply as he sank into his covers and inhaled deeply when he smelt the scent of Gabriella. He looked to the side of him and noticed that Gabriella's jacket was on his bed and he picked it up without a second thought and placed it on his pillow, taking in the scent of the girl a few rooms away from him.

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**Ah, the joy of parents.** **Well, there's more fluff to come. **

**You might need this-**

**Brian is married to Sarah and they have Ben (Teenager) and Tommy (Toddler). They are the oldest out of the brothers and their families. **

**Mike is married to Laura and they do not have kids... you'll find out why later. :) They are the second oldest.**

**Zac is married to Katie and they have a baby named Jake. They are the second youngest.**

**Troy is dating Gabriella. They're the youngest. 23 years old. **

**If you need me to tell you this again in later chapters, let me know.**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	2. Aunt Gabriella

**Hey everyone! I don't have much to say, so I'll just let you get onto reading. Enjoy.**

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Army Wives

Chapter two

Aunt Gabriella

Gabriella's eyes flickered open the next morning as a ray of light fell against her body, warming her softly. She sighed as she stretched her arms in front of her and dropped them to her sides, gasping when she felt her right arm fall against a hard surface. She looked to her side and sucked in a laugh as she saw Troy clutching his chest and rubbing his eyes softly.

"Gosh, Gabriella. Did you really have to hit me?" Troy asked with a tired smile.

"What are you doing?" Gabriella whispered as she leaned against her elbow to prop herself up.

"Looking at you." He said as he examined her flawless face.

"No, I mean in my room." Gabriella asked.

"I couldn't sleep so I came in here." Troy answered. "What's the problem?" He asked when he saw the small look of worry on her face.

"Your family is walking around the house… they'll think we did things we didn't." Gabriella whispered.

Troy chuckled furtively and shrugged.

"What should we do then?" He asked.

"How about I leave the room and in ten minutes you leave while I distract them?" Gabriella suggested.

"What's the big deal?" Troy asked with another smile.

"Troy!" She sighed deeply. "The big deal is that there are children in--" She was cut off as Troy kissed her softly, pushing her waving hand down to her side, holding her firmly on her waist.

"Hey, Gabriella, Grandma wanted me to… ew gross... sorry." Ben said as he opened the bedroom door as his face turned into a disgusted frown.

Troy and Gabriella quickly pulled away and Troy laughed as Gabriella blushed deeply. Ben stood awkwardly in the doorway, looking into the hallway.

"Uh, breakfast is almost ready." Ben said quickly and then closed the door, shaking his head as he tried to forget about the current image.

Troy was now laughing hysterically at Gabriella's face as the door closed and she quickly shoved him before she slapped him on his chest.

"It's not funny." She hissed as she ran her hand through her hair.

"Yeah… it… is." Troy laughed as he sat up, getting out of the bed.

Gabriella groaned angrily and continued to blush.

"Don't blush, Gabi, I know you want some of this." Troy said as he patted his chest with an egotistical smile on his face.

"You wish." Gabriella laughed as she chucked a pillow at him from across the room, making him scurry out into the hallway quickly before he was hit by the flying object.

Gabriella came down to the kitchen after taking a cold shower and getting dressed. It wasn't a good idea for Gabriella to sleep in considering there were eleven other people who needed to take a shower too, leaving no warm water for her. She had on a pair of dark jeans and a white T-shirt that highlighted her dark hair as it feel down her shoulders.

She smiled at the family sitting at the large dinning room table and sat down next to Troy as everyone talked about the morning news. Tommy kicked his feet under the table as he played with a JI-Joe action figure, bouncing it against the table. Ben was listening to his Ipod and had to be asked by his mom, Sarah, twice to get ride of it before his dad, Brian, finally stepped in, taking it away from him.

Katie and Zac were making sure that their baby Jake was settled into his swing that was set by the table before they went about talking to everyone else. Mr. Bolton sat at the head of the table, reading the sports section of the newspaper while adding a comment here or there to the conversation between the young adults.

Mrs. Bolton was making sure everyone had what they needed before she finally sat down and started eating and as everyone laughed and talked, they finished breakfast with the talk of the day's plans.

After an assembly line of dish washing and drying everyone was off to do what they had planned to do for the day. Mrs. Bolton was outside in the backyard planting flowers while Katie, Sarah, and Laura went out shopping for baby clothes for Jake. They had invited Gabriella to come along, but she decided to stay with Mrs. Bolton and the guys since she knew baby questions would have been asked if she went with the girls.

She sat in the grass, reading a book under the tree where Mrs. Bolton was planting some pink and purple flowers. Mrs. Bolton hummed softly and the sound of a basketball game in the driveway with the guys erupted from the side of the house.

"Gabi-ella!" Gabriella heard Tommy calling her name as he came skipping over to her from his spot on the deck where he was coloring a picture.

Gabriella smiled as she looked up at him and sat up as he slowly stopped in front of her.

"Can I have a popsicle?" He asked with a smile as bounced anxiously.

"Sure." Gabriella said as she stood up, laughing as he bolted to the kitchen door.

"I want orange! Orange!" He said as he jumped up and down next to the refrigerator, not able to reach the freezer.

"Hold your horses, buddy." Gabriella laughed as she opened the refrigerator door.

She unwrapped an orange popsicle for him and handed it to him. He thanked her and looked up at her curiously.

"What kind is your favorite?" He asked her as he licked the small crystal ice pieces off of the popsicle.

"Hmm…" Gabriella thought as she looked at the package. "Purple." She said.

"Yuck." Tommy said as he wrinkled his nose. "Purple tastes like medicine." He explained.

Gabriella smiled as she unwrapped the popsicle and tossed the garbage in the trash can.

"That's what I thought when I was your age." She said with a smile.

They walked outside and sat at the table where colorful crayons and paper was scattered on the top of it. Gabriella laughed as Tommy smiled happily and he smiled back at her, watching as she ate her purple popsicle.

"Gabi-ella?" Tommy asked as he licked a drip that was running down his hand.

"Yeah?"

"Are you my aunt?" He asked seriously.

Gabriella smiled and shook her head.

"No." She said as she set her empty popsicle stick on the table.

"Why not?" He asked in confusion.

"I'm not married to one of your uncles." Gabriella explained.

"But Troy's my uncle… aren't you married to Troy?" He asked as he set his popsicle down and grabbed a blue crayon.

"No." Gabriella laughed as she watched him.

"Why?" He asked.

"I don't know." Gabriella smiled as the sun beat down against the two. "Maybe one day."

"I want you to be my aunt. That way we can play together all of the time and you can make Troy do that funny smile." Tommy giggled.

"Funny smile?" Gabriella asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"He smiles funny when you walk by him." Tommy said with a nod.

Gabriella smiled brightly and laughed when Tommy quickly changed the subject.

"I made you a picture." He said holding the piece of paper that he was just working on up so she could see it.

"That's great, Tommy." Gabriella said as she took the picture from him and examined it carefully.

He climbed down from his chair and sat on Gabriella's lap as he looked at the picture in her hands. There was a family of stick figures, each with a green shirt on, except for two. Tommy pointed at it, naming all of the people he drew. Gabriella noticed that she and Troy were the ones who were wearing blue and she pointed at them slowly.

"Why are Troy and I wearing blue instead of green like everyone else?" She asked him.

"Because my daddy and grandpa and everyone are army peoples, but Troy isn't yet so you two can't wear green." He explained.

Gabriella smiled somewhat sadly and nodded as she looked at the picture. She wondered if Troy would soon be wearing that green to match the rest of his family and she hugged Tommy tightly as they continued to look at it.

"It's perfect, Tommy." She whispered with a smile.

"That's because it's yours." He smiled as he hugged her back.

Gabriella laughed quietly, loving that a Bolton boy at such a young age had the Bolton charm already. He giggled too, but only because he liked his "Aunt Gabriella."

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**Like it? Review!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	3. It's a Bolton thing

**Hey everyone! I hope you all got the chance to listen to "Now or Never" from HSM3 on Radio Disney yesturday! It's a very fun song! Well, I'm proud to annouce that my 1 and a half year old cousin can quickly identify Troy Bolton when asked to point him out from the group of characters. Anyways, Enjoy the chapter!**

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Army Wives

Chapter three

It's a Bolton Thing

It was Saturday, and Saturday meant cleaning day at the Bolton's house. Everyone was gathered in the family room, ready to be assigned their jobs for the day by Mr. Bolton who was now at the front of the room with a clipboard in his hand.

"Is everyone ready for Saturday cleaning?" He asked cheerfully.

Everyone groaned while Gabriella clapped excitedly. Mr. Bolton smiled and pointed at her.

"That's the spirit, Gabi!" He encouraged. "Okay… since Katie has to take care of Jake she can just do a few loads of laundry, sound good?" He asked.

Everyone nodded in agreement and Katie breathed a sigh of relief. Last year when they came to visit for a while in the summer, she and Zac were stuck cleaning out the garage and washing the cars. She did _not_ want to get stuck with that again.

"Brian and Sarah, you're assigned to the upstairs. Laura and Mike, the downstairs and Ben, you can mow the lawn." Mr. Bolton instructed.

"Grandpa, what about me?!" Tommy asked.

"You can be my helper and keep everyone on task, got it?" He asked.

Tommy cheered and Mr. Bolton turned to Troy and Gabriella who knew what was coming.

"And last, but not least, Troy and Gabriella, you will be cleaning the garage and washing the cars." Mr. Bolton instructed. "Now…" Mr. Bolton looked at his watch and then back at the group. "Go!" He said.

As Mr. Bolton chanted about hurrying up and cleaning until things were sparkling, the group got up a lot less enthusiastically and went to start their jobs.

Troy and Gabriella started with the garage, taking everything out first, before they started sweeping and vacuuming it. Ben started up the lawn mower a half hour late according to the schedule and listened to his Ipod with a monotone look on his face.

Gabriella sneezed as a puff of dust clouded up from the ground and she wiped away her tear filled eyes.

"You know, you don't really have to help if you don't want to." Troy said as he lifted a heavy looking box out of the garage.

"I'm tough, Bolton. I can handle it." Gabriella smiled as she continued to sweep the floor.

"Whenever you're tired, just tell me." He said as he continued what he was doing.

"Yes, sir." Gabriella chanted in an army-like manner.

Troy laughed as he looked over at Gabriella, watching her for a minute before he went back to what he was doing. After about twenty minutes of sweeping and removing all the dirt and leaves from the garage, Mrs. Bolton called Troy into the house for a minute, needing his help with something inside.

Gabriella was organizing the shelves when Troy came back into the garage, only this time he was shirtless and a thin layer of sweat was on his skin. His abs looked rock solid from where Gabriella was standing and she slowly looked away as a smile formed on her face. She stood back to take a look at the shelves and smiled at her work.

"Nice work." Troy said as he stood next to her, looking at the evenly sorted and arranged shelves.

"You didn't do too bad yourself." Gabriella smiled as she looked around the rest of the garage where the lawn equipment was shinning and placed in a straight line along the sides of the garage.

"I think I deserve a kiss, don't you think?" Troy asked as he wrapped his arms around Gabriella.

"You're all sweaty." Gabriella laughed as she tried to wiggle free, but Troy just held onto her tighter.

"You know you like it." Troy smiled and Gabriella shrugged, rewarding Troy's hard work with his deserved kiss.

He smiled as they pulled away and ran his hand through her hair, looking into her eyes. He was leaning in for another kiss when he heard someone clear their throat.

"Are the cars clean yet?" Mr. Bolton asked with Tommy standing next to him, holding a clipboard of his own.

"Uh, not yet, we're getting to that, Dad." Troy said as he slowly released Gabriella from his grasp.

"Well, get moving. We're off our schedule now." He said as he wrote a quick note on his clipboard and then moved on to his next task.

Gabriella nudged Troy as she walked out of the garage and grabbed the bucket of soapy water that she had filled up earlier.

"You love getting in trouble, don't you?" Gabriella teased him.

"You're just a bad influence." Troy smiled.

"What will you do?" Gabriella laughed.

Troy smiled and kissed her once again before starting to hose down the car. Gabriella watched as suds from the soap rolled down the window, blocking her view of Troy on the other side of the car. Gabriella walked around to Troy's side were he was now setting down the hose after hosing the side down.

"You missed a spot." Gabriella pointed out the soap on the wheel of the car.

"Really where?" Troy asked as he grabbed the hose.

"There." Gabriella pointed again.

"Where?" Troy asked again.

"Seriously Troy, are you blind?" Gabriella asked.

"Nope." Troy said as he squirted Gabriella with the hose.

"Troy! Stop! It's cold!" She screeched.

"You said I missed a spot!" Troy laughed as Gabriella came after him, moving the front of the hose towards Troy so he got wet too. They laughed and as Troy threw a large amount of soapy water at Gabriella from the bucket, she sprayed him with the hose.

Troy grabbed Gabriella and threw her over his shoulder, spinning her around as they continued to laugh. They didn't notice the group forming on the porch as Troy continued to spin Gabriella around and laugh. He slowly set her down, moving her wet hair out of her face and kissed her with a smile on his face. They pulled away when they were splashed with cold water.

They screeched with the unexpected water against them and saw Tommy spraying them with the hose as the adults and Ben stood on the porch laughing. Tommy was laughing uncontrollably as Troy ran after him, circling around the front yard. Gabriella giggled as she watched and slowly walked over to the porch full of people.

"Did Troy do this to you?" Mrs. Bolton asked as she saw her dripping body.

"Yeah, but I did that to him." Gabriella laughed as she pointed to the soaking Troy.

"Go, little sister!" Brain said as he held his hand up to give her a high five.

Gabriella laughed and watched as Troy came over with Tommy wiggling in his arms.

"I caught this trouble maker." Troy laughed as he set him down.

"You run fast, Uncle Troy." Tommy said as he breathed heavily while walking over to his mom.

"It's a Bolton gene." Mr. Bolton said with a laugh.

The group smiled and went about finishing their chores. Troy insisted that Gabriella go take a shower while he finished the cars since it was getting dark outside and he didn't want her to get sick from staying in her wet clothes.

Gabriella came down the stairs and looked at the moon that was shimmering through the front door. She walked into the family room where the guys were all watching a violent looking movie. There were soldiers walking around on the screen and then it went to a scene with a couple and a crying girlfriend. Gabriella slowly walked behind the couch, trying to go unnoticed by the guys as she went towards the kitchen where she knew the girls would be.

Troy turned his head away from the screen and noticed Gabriella tip toeing out of the room quietly. He furrowed his eyebrows when Gabriella flinched at the sound of a gun shot on the TV and slowly turned back to the TV, wondering what that was all about.

"Gabriella! Come sit down." Laura said with a smile when Gabriella came into the room.

"What are we talking about?" Gabriella smiled as she sat down.

"About that ridiculous movie the guys are watching." Mrs. Bolton answered.

"It looked pretty violent when I went in there." Gabriella said with a nod.

"I don't know why they would want to watch a movie like that. They're pretty much living that life and to watch something that makes it look worse than it already is, is beyond me." Sarah said as she shook her head angrily.

"You won't find me watching a movie like that." Katie added.

"You'll get used to it, girls." Mrs. Bolton said with a smile.

"I feel bad for you, Gabriella. You haven't really experienced this yet and if Troy's like his brothers, you'll be an army wife too." Katie said, getting kicked under the table by Sarah. "Or… you know… maybe not."

"I guess we'll have to see what Troy wants to do." Gabriella shrugged as she moved her finger around the ridges on the surface of the kitchen table.

The girls smiled at how supportive Gabriella was of Troy and continued with the conversation.

"One more year and Brian will be retired from the army." Sarah said with a dreaming smile as she propped her chin up on her hands. "The boys will be happy."

"Ugg, I don't want Jake to be in the army like his dad." Katie said as she looked at the sleeping baby next to her.

"You have a while before you have to worry about that." Mrs. Bolton reassured her.

"But in the mean time I have to worry about Zac." Katie said as she shook her head.

"Wow." Gabriella whispered to herself, but Sarah heard her.

Sarah smiled sympathetically at Gabriella and went back to listening to the conversation.

"Have you ever wondered why you always have boys?" Gabriella asked when the conversation turned over to the kids.

"I never really noticed." Sarah laughed. "I'm used to it now."

"I couldn't believe I had four boys." Mrs. Bolton said with a smile. "Mr. Bolton said it was because it would take four boys to take care of me while he was gone."

"Yeah, I'm bound to have another boy." Katie said as she looked over at Jake. "Zac says he made a bet with Brian that I'll have twin boys." She said rolling her eyes.

"I'll be having a talk with Brian about betting on your children." Sarah said with wide eyes.

Gabriella laughed quietly and Laura looked over at her from her spot by Sarah.

"So, Gabi…" She started.

"Ah, no. I know where this conversation is going." Gabriella said quickly. "I think it's time for me to go to bed." She said as she got up quickly.

The girls laughed as Gabriella disappeared around the corner, going up the stairs.

"I hope Gabriella can handle being an army wife." Katie said as she looked at the seat Gabriella was just in.

"She's strong, girls. Troy knows how to pick the right girl. She's right for him, so he must have sensed that she could handle something like that." Mrs. Bolton said to the girls.

Gabriella woke up in the middle of the night after a nightmare and got up slowly out of her bed and walked into the hallway. She tiptoed to Troy's room and closed his door behind her once she got into his room. She smiled when she saw that he was comfortably sleeping and breathing deeply.

She sat on his bed and lay down once she crawled over to him, placing herself right next to him.

"Gabi?" She heard him whispered tiredly.

"Hey." She said as she looked up at him.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Looking at you." She stated.

Troy chuckled and put his arm around her as she scouted closer to him, placing her head on his chest.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just can't sleep." She said.

"Okay, well, goodnight." He said as he kissed her forehead.

She closed her eyes and inhaled his scent as she snuggled her face into his chest. She could hear his heartbeat and as she listened to it, she slowly fell asleep to the beating of his heart.

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**I think that was a pretty fun chapter! What about you? Review!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	4. Embarrassing

**Hey everyone! Thanks for the wonderful reviews! This chapter is kind of a filler, but I like it. Don't forget to watch "Picture This" on ABC Family tonight! I'm so excited! Enjoy!**

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Army Wives

Chapter four

Embarrassing

Gabriella walked down the stairs after quietly leaving Troy in his room to sleep the next morning. She smiled when she saw Ben opening the front door, keys jingling in his hand.

"Where are you going?" Gabriella asked as she got to the bottom of the stairs.

"I have been asked to watch the neighbor's cat." Ben explained as he looked at Gabriella like this could be the end of his life.

Gabriella giggled, but quickly stopped when Ben gave her an it's-not-funny look.

"I'm sure the cat's nice." Gabriella said with a smile.

"Oh yeah. It'll definitely be the highlight of my summer." Ben said as he finally stepped out on the porch. "I'd appreciate it if we kept this between the two of us. If anyone other than you and Grandma find out, I'll be made fun of for the rest of my life."

"Got it." Gabriella said with a nod. "You can trust me."

"Yeah." Ben laughed as he let the door shut behind him, leaving Gabriella to go into the kitchen.

"Hey, guys." Gabriella said when she saw that only the guys were up and eating breakfast.

"Hey, Gabs." Mike said as he looked away from the newspaper he was reading.

"What are you doing up so early?" Zac asked as he wiped up some spit up from Jake.

"I couldn't really sleep." She admitted as she got some cereal out of the pantry and poured it in a bowl.

"Is Troy still sleeping?" Brian asked when Gabriella sat down at the kitchen table across from him.

"I think so."

The guys exchanged a look that Gabriella couldn't read and then Brian spoke again.

"Want to hear some embarrassing stuff about him? You know, since you're practically family and all, you should know everything about your boyfriend, and our brother, Troy Bolton." Brain suggested.

Gabriella raised her eyebrows and looked from one brother to the next.

"I'm sure I know most embarrassing things about Troy." She said as she scooped some cereal in her spoon and put it in her mouth.

"We'll see, little sister, we'll see." Brian said with a smile.

Gabriella nodded for them to continue and laughed at their excited smiles. A few minutes went by and the guys were looking at Gabriella wide-eyed when she nodded again.

"Oh yeah. He told me about that one."

"Are you serious?!" Zac exclaimed.

"So far you've already heard of his bowling disaster, cross dressing fiasco, and muddy Christmas?!" Mike asked.

"Yeah." Gabriella answered.

"This is unbelievable." Brian announced.

"What is?" They heard from the door and when they turned to see who was there, Troy was yawning in the doorway.

"Gabriella knows every embarrassing thing about you!" Zac said.

Troy laughed quietly and nodded as he walked over to the table where Gabriella was now standing up, wrapping his arm around her. Gabriella smiled as Troy kissed her cheek and turned to him with a wink.

"Alright, boys, I'm going to take a shower." Gabriella said.

"Wait… I'm sure you haven't heard of the beach story." Zac tried before Gabriella left.

Troy shot him a look as Brian and Mike laughed. Gabriella turned around slowly and walked back over to the table. The boys, except Troy, snickered as they thought of the story while Troy stood angrily looking at his brothers.

"Oh, right!" Gabriella said. "Wasn't that the time the female lifeguard had to save you guys from that shark attack? Wait! It was a dolphin, wasn't it?" Gabriella asked.

The guys immediately stopped laughing and Troy started laughing.

"Oops, wrong time! I heard that one from your wives by the way." Gabriella said with a smile, and then looked at Troy. "Next time, honey, just wear extra sun screen, okay?" She asked.

"Sure thing." Troy said with a nod through his laughs as his brothers sat defeated at the kitchen table.

"One point for little sister; zero points for big brothers!" She cheered as she disappeared out of the kitchen.

"She's definitely a Bolton." Brian said as he shook his head, walking out of the room.

"Are you ever going to ask her to marry you?" Zac asked.

"Yeah, you better before you leave for boot camp." Mike smiled.

Troy rolled his eyes and proceeded towards the refrigerator as his brothers continued to talk about his future and plans, teasing him occasionally. Troy just sat eating his cereal, trying to ignore the comments made by his brothers. He breathed a sigh of relief when their wives came in and he could escape from the embarrassing moments.

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**unknownbyhim22**


	5. Bolton Boot Camp

**Hey everyone! I'm loving all of the reviews! Thank you! I personally favor this chapter so I hope you like it! Enjoy!**

* * *

Army Wives

Chapter five

Bolton Boot Camp

A few days later, Ben was lying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. The room was dark because the curtains were closed and he sighed for the one hundredth time. He was bored. B-O-R-E-D. His cat sitting job was over after getting bit twice and attacked once. His back hurt from the endless piggy back rides he had given Tommy and his head hurt from listening to his Ipod full time. He was about to fall asleep when Mr. Bolton walked in.

"Get up, son." He demanded from where he was standing.

"Come on, Gramps, I was just about to fall asleep." Ben said with a sigh.

"You are not lying around like this anymore. You're getting some exercise."

"Exercise?" Ben groaned.

"Boys!" Mr. Bolton shouted from his spot and a few minutes later Brian, Mike, Zac, and Troy were walking into the family room.

"Yeah, Dad?" Zac asked.

"It's time to show Ben what the summer is all about." Mr. Bolton smiled. "Ready for the Bolton Boot camp?"

"Bolton Boot camp?!" Ben exclaimed as he shot up from the couch.

"Yup. Your dad and uncles had to go through this every summer. It's about time they teach you."

"Look I'm exercising!" Ben announced as he started doing jumping jacks. "No need for boot camp!"

"Your form's bad." Mr. Bolton replied. "Go get dressed."

Ben groaned as his dad laughed at him and Gabriella walked in slowly.

"What's all the yelling about?" Gabriella asked.

"Bolton Boot camp." Ben groaned.

"You're welcome to join us, Gabriella." Mr. Bolton said with a smile.

"No! Don't!" Ben said. "You'd die!"

"I could totally handle it. Remember, I'm cool!" She laughed as she punched Ben in the arm. "Troy, I'm raiding your closet." She said as she started to follow Ben upstairs.

A few minutes later when the guys were outside, Gabriella came out through the back door. They were all stretching and Troy stopped when he saw Gabriella. She was wearing his ARMY t-shirt and short beige shorts. Her hair was pulled back in a tight pony tail and it was pushed back with a camouflage head band.

"Close your mouth, Troy." Mike laughed as he slapped him in the chest.

Troy blushed softly and went back to stretching. He smiled when Gabriella stood next to him and started stretching.

"You're in for a beating." Troy said as he shook his head. "I would have warned you sooner, but you were pretty excited."

"No, worries. I can handle it." Gabriella replied with a smile.

"Hope so."

"Are you doubting me?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm speaking from experience. This is worse than army boot camp." Troy explained.

"We'll see." Gabriella smiled.

Troy shook his head and shrugged as he watched his enthusiastic girlfriend. She had no idea what she was in for. He, Troy Bolton, had no idea what he was in for. At least when it came to Gabriella.

"We'll start with the basics." Mr. Bolton started as he paced in front of the group. The women sat in lawn chairs on the grass, watching with raised eyebrows. "Four miles around the block."

"Four miles?!" Ben shouted.

"He raised it a mile from last summer." Zac whispered.

Gabriella smiled and ran in front of the group, turning to jog backwards to see the guys.

"What are you all waiting for?" She asked as she started to set her pace down the driveway into the street.

Troy smiled and followed her as his brothers followed him, along with Mr. Bolton. Gabriella ran in the middle of the six men and kept her eyes forward so she wouldn't get distracted by Troy. She smiled when they were on their second mile and a group of neighbors standing on a front lawn, waved to them, looking at the runners with patriotic smiles. The groups breathing became heavy almost immediately after that and they were panting when they got to the backyard where the women were still seated, waiting for their return.

"Next." Mr. Bolton said before the group even had a chance to think about their numb legs. "We'll do wheel barrels. Pick a partner."

"Ready, Ben?" Brain asked his son.

"Can't you say I can't do this anymore because of my asthma?" Ben asked his dad.

"You don't have asthma." Brian said with a shake of his head.

"Can't you lie for me?"

"Are you kidding? If Grandpa figures out we're lying, he'll torture us. Trust me, I tried getting out of it when I was in eleventh grade by saying I broke my toe. I spent two weeks cleaning bathrooms." Brian answered his son.

Gabriella laughed as she picked Troy's feet up and pushed him back and forth around the backyard while Mr. Bolton blew his whistle to make them go faster. He fell once, making Gabriella crash down onto him, but they quickly started over again when they got yelled at.

"Switch!" Mr. Bolton instructed.

Troy grabbed Gabriella's ankles and laughed as Gabriella did, speeding around the backyard on her hands. Troy watched as Gabriella's shoulder muscles flexed as she continued crawling around and he couldn't help but smile at how tough Gabriella really was.

"Piggy back rides!" Mr. Bolton shouted.

"This should be interesting." Gabriella laughed as she turned around so Troy could hop up on her back.

"There's no way." Troy said to Gabriella as he shook his head. "I'll crush you."

"Everyone else is doing it." Gabriella said as she pointed to Troy's brothers.

"That's different." Troy replied.

"Are you scared I'll drop you? I promise I won't." Gabriella smiled.

"Gabi…" Troy started.

"Come on." Gabriella interrupted him, patting her back.

"Okay, but if I hurt you, tell me." He said as he hesitantly put his hands on her shoulders to get on her back.

Gabriella laughed as she held Troy on her back and walked around the backyard, stumbling under his weight, but laughing because he was freaking out.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine." Gabriella said as she huffed and puffed.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Am I crushing you?" He asked.

"No."

"Are you going to fall?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure, because I can get off."

"Don't"

"Are you sure?"

"Son, stop harassing her. She's doing fine." Mr. Bolton said as he shook his head at his son.

After another minute or so, they switched. Gabriella sank against Troy and set her head on his shoulder, breathing heavily. Troy swirled around with ease as he teased his brothers. Gabriella laughed, but kissed Troy's neck quickly, making it a little less easy for him to walk around.

"You're distracting me." Troy laughed when Gabriella kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm just making this fair for your brothers." She laughed.

Troy smiled and walked around the backyard with Gabriella, humming softly as Gabriella closed her eyes for a quick break.

It had been almost three and a half hours of working out nonstop when Mr. Bolton blew his whistle again. He made the group line up and do jumping jacks together. He watched Gabriella for a minute and smiled when she smiled at him, still happy as can be after this long few hours of Bolton Boot camp.

"You know, this really isn't that bad." Gabriella smiled.

The guys replied with a groan and the women laughed as they cheered their kids and husbands on. Gabriella breathed deeply as everyone stopped a few minutes later and Mr. Bolton continued to give out instructions.

"Okay, you can all cool down with two hundred push ups." He smiled, sitting down on the porch steps next to Mrs. Bolton.

"I hate Bolton Boot camp!" Ben shouted as he fell to the ground.

"Now you've figured out the meaning of summer!" Mr. Bolton laughed.

Gabriella smiled as she looked in front of her at Troy. She was on her fiftieth push up as was Troy and she couldn't help but love the way Troy looked when he was overly sweaty. She looked down at her arm to make sure she wasn't gross looking and groaned in disgust.

"Tired?" Troy asked with a smile.

"No! I look disgusting." Gabriella exclaimed.

"We're doing two hundred push ups and you're worried about how you look?" Troy asked with a laugh.

"Well, you're around. You could be disgusted right now by looking at me!" Gabriella explained as she continued to move up and down.

"You don't disgust me." Troy said with a smile.

Gabriella smiled and scouted closer to him while still doing push ups. Troy moved his head up and kissed her softly on the lips when she got closer to him and Mrs. Bolton quickly appeared with her camera.

"Let's see that again!" She said excitedly.

"Aw, Mom." Troy whined in embarrassment.

"Do it for your mother." She said with a smile as she held up the camera.

Gabriella giggled as she kissed Troy again and waited until the picture was taken before going back to her push ups. At the last fifty push ups, Ben collapsed on the ground and Mr. Bolton didn't bother getting him up, considering he was now probably crying and Brian laughed as he looked at his son. The group stopped once they reached their two hundred push ups except for Troy and Gabriella. Somewhere during the last push ups, they had gotten into some kind of competition of who would last the longest. They were looking right into each other's eyes and Mr. Bolton cheered on the good competition.

"I'm betting on Gabriella." Mr. Bolton announced.

"Thanks, Dad." Troy said as he went a little faster.

"Going faster?" Gabriella asked. "Bring it on, Bolton." She said as she too started going faster.

"What is that girl on?" Zac asked.

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked.

Brian slapped Zac upside the head and turned to Tommy with a fake smile.

"Don't worry about it, Tommy." Brian said to his son.

Tommy shrugged and looked back at Troy and Gabriella and at his brother, Ben, who was still lying on the grass.

"Have you been practicing?" Troy asked Gabriella.

"You know, I still hold the record at Albuquerque Elementary School for the most push ups in a minute _and_ at East Middle School." Gabriella smiled.

"You're a push up champion! What have I gotten myself into?" Troy said somewhat sarcastically.

"I heard that sarcasm, Bolton! You're going down now." Gabriella said quickly.

"There's no way! My family is betting on you! I'm not letting them win!" Troy said.

"Hey!" The family on the deck said with laughs.

Gabriella looked into Troy's eyes and scouted closer to him. Troy eyed her suspiciously.

"What are you up to?" Troy asked her.

"I'm not letting you win." She said in a whisper.

She winked at him and kissed him softly as they continued to do push ups. Troy's arms became weak slowly, but he wouldn't give up as he continued to kiss Gabriella. The kiss became more passionate than Gabriella had intended it to become in front of the whole Bolton family, but she was not going to lose.

"Okay, Tommy, let's go make some meat loaf!" Sarah said quickly as she grabbed Tommy and carried him inside.

"But Mom!" Tommy complained.

"You're going down." Gabriella mumbled through the kiss.

Troy shook his head and started doing one handed push ups as he reached up to Gabriella and put his hand on her neck. Troy slowly sank to the ground and Gabriella did two more push ups before she dropped too. She continued to kiss him and he smiled through the kiss.

"Alright, give them some room." Mr. Bolton said as he walked towards the back door.

Brain walked towards Ben and picked him up and tucked him under his arm like he was still six years old and the seventeen year old laughed as his dad did so. Troy and Gabriella were left on the lawn as the sky became dark, kissing like there was no tomorrow. Gabriella finally pulled away and looked at Troy lovingly.

"I won." She whispered.

"I don't know. I think I might have." Troy said with a smile as he kissed her again.

They stayed outside, heads pressed together as they watched the sky twinkle with stars. They skipped dinner when their family called them inside and stayed there in comfortable silence as night soon took over. It was the most perfect end to a day of Bolton Boot camp.

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**unknownbyhim22**


	6. Kids

**Hey everyone! I decided to wait a little longer to update because I'm updating too fast! By the time I'm done posting Army Wives I'm not going to have anything left to post! I'm starting to get behind. :) Well, here's a filler. Enjoy.**

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Army Wives

Chapter six

Kids

The family was all in the kitchen, some standing up around the island eating their breakfast and some at the kitchen table. The sun was bright and shimmered into the kitchen, giving off the summer feeling to the Bolton house. The doorbell rang softly and Ben tiredly got up to answer it since he was already dressed and done eating. Ben came rushing into the kitchen a few seconds later with a measuring cup in his hand, his eyes glittering with excitement.

"_The_ hottest girl is at the front door asking for a cup of flour!" Ben exclaimed.

The group stopped all current conversations as Ben swiftly made his way towards the pantry to get flour out of it. Gabriella peeked at the front door from her spot at the kitchen table and smiled to the rest of the group.

"She _is_ really pretty." She smiled.

Ben came rushing back with a cup of flour, small clouds of white dust trailing behind him and he casually slowed down when he got to the door. The girl smiled and took the flour from him, noticing the scratches on his arm.

"Did my cat do that to you?" She asked.

"What?" Ben asked as he looked down at his arm. "Oh… that's your cat? Um… yeah, but it's okay." He nodded.

"Sorry about that." The girl said shyly now. "Um… I'm Amy by the way… I won't have you watch my cat anymore." She smiled.

"I'm Ben." He said with a smile. "It's okay. I think I can take him if you need me to."

The girl laughed and nodded.

"Well, I have some pancakes to make. Thanks for the flour." She said as she waved goodbye.

"No problem. Enjoy the pancakes!" He said as he waved goodbye.

Ben walked back into the kitchen with a giddy smile on his face and the adults exchanged a quick look.

"Are you in love?" Tommy asked as he chewed on some fruit, making his cheek look much bigger than it actually was.

Sarah and Brian gasped together and the rest of the adults tried not to laugh, but couldn't contain it very well.

"I don't know…" Ben sighed. "But this summer rocks!" He cheered as he walked out of the kitchen and up to his room to figure out some kind of way to win this Amy girl over. Maybe a specially made CD?

The remaining people in the kitchen laughed as Ben disappeared and Gabriella smiled because she was happy Ben was finally excited about something. The phone started to ring and Troy walked over to it, pressing a button, and then placing it against his ear. A smile instantly appeared on his face and the people in the kitchen watched him from their spots around the room.

"I'm good! How are you?" He asked with a smile. "That sounds great… yeah; she's wonderful, prettier than ever." He said glancing over at Gabriella. "It was nice talking to you too. Alright, I will." Troy smiled and nodded. "You too." He blushed.

Troy walked over to Gabriella and handed her the phone.

"It's your mom." He said with a smile.

Gabriella smiled widely and took the phone from Troy.

"Hey! How's your vacation?" She asked. "Really? Have you even relaxed yet?" Gabriella nodded as she listened to her mom on the other line. Troy watched her from the other side of the table as everyone talked amongst their selves.

"I'm great. No… no grandchildren yet." She said as she shook her head.

The room went silent and Troy spit his orange juice all over Tommy who started laughing hysterically.

"Yeah, that was Troy. Well, I _am_ in a room full of people, Mom." She said as she shook her head again. "Okay, yeah, I'll talk to you later too. Love you. Bye." She said as she slowly hung up the phone.

Gabriella looked at the group in front of her and nodded her head slowly.

"Awkward." She whispered softly.

"You're telling me." Troy whispered back, not looking behind him at his family.

A few hours later, Troy and Gabriella were assigned to watching the kids for the day while everyone else, including Ben, went out for a few fun activities. Gabriella was in Tommy's room, coloring different pictures while Troy was downstairs, watching TV with Jake.

"Is Ben in love, Gabi-ella?" Tommy asked as he changed from a green crayon to an orange.

"No. He's just excited." Gabriella said with a smile as she colored Spider Man in a super heroes coloring book.

"Are you in love with Uncle Troy?" Tommy asked.

"Yes." Gabriella answered.

"Well, why isn't Ben in love with the flour girl?" Tommy asked.

"Well, he doesn't know her enough yet." Gabriella answered.

"How long does it take?" Tommy asked.

"It's different for everyone. Some people know right away and for some people it takes a while." Gabriella tried to explain.

"Did you know right away that you were in love with Uncle Troy?" Tommy asked.

Gabriella thought for a minute, putting her chin in her hands as she watched Tommy.

"I think so." She said with a smile.

"How do people know?" He asked.

"What's with all of the questions?" Gabriella asked with a smile.

"You always answer questions in good words." Tommy explained.

"In good words." Gabriella repeated to herself.

"Good words." Tommy nodded as he concentrated on his drawing.

"It's hard to explain how people now." Gabriella told him.

"How did you know?"

"Well, I found myself drawing a lot of hearts…" Gabriella started.

"Like this?" Tommy asked as he drew a sloppy heart.

"Yeah, like that one." Gabriella smiled as she looked at it. "And I always wanted to be with your Uncle Troy. He made me smile all of the time and when I was sad he made me feel better."

"Gabi-ella…" Tommy started with a smile.

"Yeah, Tommy." Gabriella asked.

"I love you." He smiled.

Gabriella smiled widely and became teary eyed at how confidently Tommy had said those three words. She sat up and held her arms out to hug Tommy. He sat in her lap and hugged her back.

"I love you too." Gabriella smiled.

Tommy sat up after a few seconds and grabbed Gabriella's hand, pulling her up. He smiled at her, running quickly down the hallway. Gabriella laughed as she followed him into the family room where Troy was sitting on the couch. Tommy ran towards him and sat down on the couch, smiling happily.

"Uncle Troy, guess what?!" He asked.

"What?" Troy asked with a smile as Gabriella sat on the coffee table, facing them.

"I love Gabi-ella!" He exclaimed proudly.

"You do?" Troy asked with a smile as he looked over at Gabriella who was smiling like she had never been happier.

Tommy nodded with a smile and hugged Troy quickly. Troy smiled at how Tommy was acting and motioned towards Gabriella.

"I think there's room for you on this couch." He said.

Gabriella smiled and sat on the empty side of Troy and snuggled close to him. Troy kissed her head softly and pulled Tommy closer to him. Troy and Gabriella smiled at each other when they heard heavy breathing from Tommy a few minutes later and saw that he was sleeping. They stayed on the couch so they wouldn't disturb Tommy and Gabriella slowly fell asleep, leaving Troy to look over everyone while they slept.

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**I offically love Tommy. Review!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	7. Conversations

**Hey everyone! I'm loving all of the reviews! Thank you so much for reading! It really makes me happy. Well, this chapter is somewhat sad. We hear more on the Army subject. Enjoy!**

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Army Wives

Chapter seven

Conversations

The Bolton boys were in the family room, watching another one of those violent movies that the girls didn't approve of. The girls therefore were in the kitchen, having another conversation about the army. Gabriella was starting to think that this was the only thing that they could think about lately; that they spent all their time with their husbands, worrying about the next time they had to leave.

"Mike got a call yesterday and he has to go into training a month earlier than he was told." Laura said as she shook her head.

"That's terrible." Mrs. Bolton said with a frown.

"I'm so mad." Laura replied as she crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hide the tears that were forming.

The women were too busy complaining to notice, but Gabriella saw the single tear that slide down her cheek right away.

"Maybe you all should just focus on the fact that they're here right now with you and your family, and stop focusing on how long you have." Gabriella suggested.

Mrs. Bolton smiled softly and shook her head.

"You don't understand, Gabi, honey." Mrs. Bolton said softly.

Gabriella nodded and shrugged while she got up.

"I guess I just don't belong in this conversation then." She said quietly.

"No, I didn't mean that, Gabi." Mrs. Bolton started.

"It's okay, seriously. I guess I just don't know what you have to go through. I was just suggesting that you all enjoy the time you have with your husbands before they have to leave." She said as she walked towards the hallway. "Goodnight, girls."

The women were quiet as they listened to the descending footsteps of Gabriella and looked at each other sadly.

"She's right." Katie said as she nodded her head slowly.

"I'm going to go check on Tommy." Sarah said as she stood up, wiping a stray tear that had fallen as Gabriella walked out of the room and nodded slowly.

"I'm going to go to sleep, I guess." Laura said as she looked at Mrs. Bolton and Katie

Mrs. Bolton looked at Katie with a sad smile as she gathered Jake in her arms. She walked into the family room after cleaning up the kitchen and smiled as Mr. Bolton turned away from the movie playing on the screen.

"You okay?" He asked her when he saw that her eyes were red.

"I'm fine, honey. Goodnight." She said with a smile, kissing him softly before kissing each of her sons and grandsons and then left the room.

Gabriella was staring at her ceiling, listening to the muffled sounds of the guys downstairs. She was tired, but upset in a way that wouldn't let her go to sleep. After an hour of tossing and turning she walked into the dark hallway, toward the stairs. She sat on the top step, leaning against the wall as she listened to the guys downstairs.

"I don't know what I want to do." She heard Troy say quietly.

"Are you even interested in joining the army?" Gabriella heard Mike ask.

"I mean, guys, come on, it runs in the family." Troy answered.

"That doesn't mean you have to join. We want you to join if that's what you want. Not because it's what we all did." Mr. Bolton said.

"But isn't it great to know you're protecting your family everyday? That you're doing a heroic act all of the time?" Troy asked.

"We could do that at the bank if we wanted to. We could be teachers and make the same difference with our family here." Brain explained.

"It's a huge thrill to be a part of the army, but it's only if you are willing to give up a few things and want it one hundred percent." Mike added.

"I want to join the army." Troy answered.

"Before you make the decision, think of exactly what you want before you leave with your brothers at the end of the summer." Mr. Bolton said proudly, but sternly.

"What do you mean?" Troy asked.

"You know how it was when I was away, Troy." Mr. Bolton said with a shrug. "I was never home. I missed Halloweens, Birthdays, basketball games..."

Brian nodded.

"Concerts, broken bones, Christmas…" Brian added.

"Births." Zac said as he shook his head.

Troy nodded slowly.

"You also have to think of Gabriella." Mike added. "She's going to miss you if you leave. It's going to hurt her even if she makes you believe it's not."

"Gabriella said she'd support me either way." Troy replied quickly.

"But think deep down, Troy. No wife wants to see their husband leave for war, and truth be told, no husband wants to see their wife crying at the airport before they leave."

"I guess you're right." Troy said somewhat sadly.

"Think of your kids too." Mike said.

Gabriella almost fell from her spot on the top of the stairs, but quickly caught herself before she could.

"But I don't…" Troy started.

"Have any?" Mike asked. "Yeah neither do I." He said.

The downstairs became silent as the guys looked at Mike.

"I made that decision." Mike said quietly. "I remember what Laura said to me when we decided not to have kids. 'I don't want to have to tell our kids when they ask me when Daddy is coming home, that he's going to be gone for a while.'"

"You never told us that." Zac said quietly.

"That's because I didn't want to admit to myself that every single day I'm making my wife upset by not giving her the kids she's always wanted." Mike answered.

"I don't want to do that to Gabriella." Troy said quietly.

"Then you better think of what you want and talk to Gabriella." Zac said. "You might just have to pick one or the other." He said honestly.

Gabriella sucked in the tears that were forming in her eyes as she quietly stood up and turned to go back to her room. She waited by the stairs for a second to hear what Troy might say back and his answer only made tears fall freely from her eyes.

"Maybe." He whispered.

Gabriella fell onto her bed as she tried to keep her tears contained. She breathed deeply to try to stop crying, but it didn't work. She hated that everyone thought she didn't understand what went into being an Army wife or that she couldn't handle what every other Bolton family member went through. She, Gabriella Montez, understood perfectly what being a part of an army family was all about. She'd been a part of one for what felt like her whole life.

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**unknownbyhim22**


	8. Paint Ball

**Hey everyone! Don't thank me for updating twice in one day! Thank zanessa14. She convinced me to update again today. This chapter... well... you'll see. Enjoy!**

* * *

Army Wives

Chapter eight

Paintball

Gabriella was in her room, pulling on her clothes after she had just gotten out of the shower. She heard people pass her room occasionally, but no one ever came in and said good morning. She had no problem with that; she was suddenly feeling like she didn't want to see the Bolton family in this moment, but she knew that would soon change. No one could resist the Bolton family.

She heard a light tap on her bedroom door and it opened as she was putting her shirt on. She couldn't help but laugh at Troy's face when he realized he walked in on her, making a "whoa" sound in the process.

"Sorry, I should have waited for a reply." He said as he made his way further in her room.

"It's okay." Gabriella smiled. "What's up?" She asked, seeing the excited gleam in his eyes.

"Well, my mom was going to baby sit Tommy and Jake while everyone else went to play paintball." Troy explained. "I was coming up here to ask you if you wanted to come."

"Sounds fun." Gabriella said with a nod. "I don't know how to play though."

"That will make it even more fun." Troy smiled. "You're on my team so either way, you'll be a winner." He bragged.

"Okay." Gabriella nodded.

Troy smiled and walked towards the door. He paused before he opened it and turned back around to look at Gabriella.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, why?" Gabriella faked a confused look.

"I don't know. You seem kind of sad." Troy pointed out.

"Oh. I'm not. Don't worry." Gabriella said as she looked at Troy.

"Okay. Well, we're leaving in a few minutes." He said as he went into the hallway.

"I'll be down in five." Gabriella called after him.

Gabriella met the group on the driveway where they were excitedly talking about the event to come. Mrs. Bolton was holding Jake and she was smiling at Tommy who was circling around her with a camouflage shirt on. Troy smiled when he saw Gabriella and put his arm around her once she stood next to him.

"I guess we'll go over the rules now instead of waiting to go through them at the course." Mr. Bolton said to the group. "No shooting each other above the shoulders. Always wear your protective gear at all times and once you get hit, you're out. No lying." He said as he looked over at Ben.

"Why are you looking at me?" He asked innocently.

Brian laughed at his son and gave Mr. Bolton a look to continue.

"Also, shoot each other from a distance. No close up shots." He said.

The group nodded and Gabriella faked a smile because she had no idea what she was about to do. She asked Troy a hundred of questions when they were driving to the paintball field and Troy was now laughing at her panicked look.

"You'll do fine." He smiled.

"I have no idea what I'm doing!" Gabriella admitted. "I don't know how to shoot a paintball gun… or any gun for that matter." She said.

"You'll learn fast when one of my brothers are aiming for you." He chuckled.

"Are your brothers good at this?" She asked.

"Yeah." Troy smiled. "I still can't believe I've never taken you here."

"Does it hurt when you get hit?" She asked.

Troy cleared his throat and pretended to be adjusting his rear view mirror.

"Troy?" Gabriella said.

"Um… you know… it's not bad… maybe a bruise or two." He said awkwardly.

Gabriella turned to face Troy and raised her eyebrows suspiciously.

"Yeah..." Troy finally said once he couldn't avoid Gabriella's eyes.

"Great." Gabriella said with a sigh as Troy parked in the parking lot. "I don't know what I'm doing _and_ this is going to hurt."

"Don't worry." Troy smiled as he leaned against the arm rest. "I'll protect you."

"You better." Gabriella joked.

Troy leaned towards her and gave her a quick peck on the lips before stepping out of the car. Gabriella inhaled the warm air and followed Troy towards the paintball place.

Troy, Gabriella, and his brothers, along with their partners, were in the middle of the field with their long cover ups on and goggles. The women, other than Gabriella, were smiling excitedly because they knew what they were doing and they could easily play along side with the guys.

"Ready?" Mr. Bolton asked with a smile.

"I have no idea what to do!" Gabriella whispered to Troy.

Troy smiled.

"Just stay with me." Troy whispered back. "Run as fast as you can." He said quickly.

"What? Why?" Gabriella asked.

Just as she asked, Troy shot Zac in the leg, applying a bright orange paint spot against his black cover up.

"Troy!" He shouted.

Gabriella screeched and ran with Troy towards a large blow up wall that had colorful paint splatters all over it. She gasped when she saw a few new paint spots added to the wall, indicating that they were being shot at.

"Why did you do that?" Gabriella asked with a laugh.

"I always start the game." He laughed. "They still can't ever guess when I'm going to do it though."

"What do we do now?" Gabriella asked.

"We run." Troy stated. "A lot."

"Do you think anyone got out yet?" Gabriella asked.

"The girls usually get out pretty fast." He said in a whisper.

Gabriella swallowed hard and tried to stay calm.

"Don't worry." Troy said. "Just keep your eyes open."

Gabriella nodded slowly and walked along the wall to see if anyone was there. She heard Troy behind her and she took a deep breath when the wall ended and she would have to go out in the open. She took one step out, but Troy quickly grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Wait." He whispered. "Do you hear that?" He asked against her hair.

"No." Gabriella said. "I don't hear anything."  
Troy held her close to him and listened intently. Gabriella could feel his chest rising and falling against her back and she tried to hear, but only heard the wind. Before she knew it, she was being pulled in the opposite direction, running along the wall. Troy quickly walked around the wall and Gabriella gasped when she saw that Zac was by the wall, right where they were just at, but at the opposite side. His back was facing them, like he was about to sneak up on them, but Troy quickly shot him, laughing as he ran in a different direction, hearing Zac shout a curse word.

Gabriella cracked up as she followed Troy to another wall on the opposite side of the field. They noticed Sarah, Laura, and Katie on the side lines, already out, small paint splashes on their cover ups. They were watching tiny TV screens that were broadcasting the current game on it. Gabriella crouched down next to the small wall and looked at Troy.

"How did you hear that?" She whispered.

"I can hear anything." He smiled.

Gabriella smirked and gave Troy a wondering look.

"I can hear the quietest things from people sneaking up on me, to eavesdropping from the top of the stairs." Troy whispered.

He gave Gabriella a look, almost saying to just admit that she had heard his conversation the night before because he knew it was her. Gabriella's mouth dropped, but Troy quickly stood up and shot his paintball gun. Gabriella slowly stood up too and turned around, seeing Mike standing, now with a paint splatter on his cover up.

"Darn it, Troy!" He said angrily.

"Come on." Troy said as he took Gabriella's hand and ran away from where Mike was standing.

Gabriella quickly looked at the sidelines and everyone but Brain and Ben were standing there, watching the game.

"Brian and Ben are the only ones left." Gabriella shouted to Troy as they ran.

"We have to watch out for them. Ben learned the secrets from his dad. Brian is the best paintball player of the family." Troy explained to Gabriella.

"Where do you think they are?" Gabriella asked as she scanned the field.

"Probably hiding behind one of the walls." Troy said.

Gabriella held her breath as they chose a wall to hide behind, hoping that they wouldn't come face to face with Brian or Ben. She exhaled when no one was there and they quickly looked around to see if anyone was around.

Gabriella was turning the corner, going to a different part of the field when she was suddenly on the ground and when she opened her eyes after closing them to prepare for the impact, she saw Troy on top of her.

"Troy! What are you doing?" She asked in a whisper yell.

"Crap!" He said quickly as he pulled at his cover up so that he could see the fabric on his shoulder.

Gabriella gasped when she saw the pink paint on his shoulder and looked to the side, seeing Ben. She would have tried to shoot Ben, but her paintball gun was being weighed down by Troy.

"Ben!" Troy shouted, moving off of Gabriella, but lying on the ground still.

Gabriella screeched when Ben pointed his paintball gun at her, but then Troy was blocking the paintball gun's path again and preventing her from getting hit. She was still in the game. Troy was now grabbing his paintball gun too shoot at Ben and as he started to sit up and as Gabriella recovered from the impact of Troy minutes before, she saw Brain standing on one of the platforms, tiptoeing over to them.

Even though Troy was out, he was shooting Ben, but it really didn't count since he was out already. Gabriella was panicking because she was on her own since Brian and Ben were on a team together.

"Uhh… Troy!" She said quickly.

Gabriella picked up her paintball gun from next to her and shot at Brian. He wasn't expecting it and as a purple paintball print appeared on his cover up he looked up in shock.

"No!" He shouted.

Gabriella quickly stood up as Troy turned to see what happened and as Ben shouted in anger.

"Dad! You weren't paying attention!" He said in shock.

Ben ran over to his dad to help him up from where he had fallen to the ground and Troy quickly appeared at Gabriella's side.

"You shot Brian?!" He asked in shock.

"Well… yeah! He was sneaking up on us." Gabriella explained.

"This is amazing! He's never lost!" Troy said quickly.

"I thought _you_ always won."

Troy shook his head.

"Never. I just said that because I didn't want you to freak out." He said honestly.

Ben was helping his dad up and as they turned around to face Gabriella and Troy, Brain whispered something to his son.

"Shoot him!" Troy said quickly.

"What?" Gabriella asked.

"He's not out yet!" Troy said as he looked at Ben with some anger.

Gabriella's eyes widened and as Ben was about to shoot her a purple splash of paint appeared on his cover up against the yellow of Troy's paint; a single purple splash, indicating that he was now out. Gabriella shot him first, winning the game.

Ben looked down at the paint and touched it with his gloved hand, seeing the purple clearly now. He got a revengeful look on his face that made both Troy and Gabriella run for their lives in the opposite direction.

Troy and Gabriella ran down the open field and as they were almost covered by a wall, Gabriella felt something hit her shoulder. At first she didn't realize it, but then she was being pelted, one paintball after another.

Mr. Bolton and the rest of the people that were already out ran in their direction, laughing as they saw the panicked couple.

Troy pulled Gabriella in front of him and shielded her between the wall and his body. He winced in pain a few times when the paintballs got harder and sharper, but he smiled through the pain as he inhaled Gabriella's scent, loving the feeling of protecting her.

Gabriella put her face against Troy's chest as she felt a paintball skim her shoulder and as a few more shots were fired, they soon stopped when Mr. Bolton's voice boomed through the open air.

"That's enough!" Mr. Bolton called out.

Troy slowly and cautiously moved away from the wall and Gabriella squinted in anticipation of another paintball hitting her.

"Congratulations, Gabriella!" Zac said with an impressed smile.

"Thanks." She said with a laugh.

"I can't believe it!" Sarah said. "You have just saved me weeks of hearing them brag!" She said as she hugged Gabriella. "This has never happened."

"This is going to go down in Bolton history." Mike said with a nod.

"Nice try, guys." Katie said to Ben and Brian.

They sighed, still trying to get over the fact that they had lost. Gabriella laughed at their expressions and smiled as she looked up at Troy, who had a proud smile on his face. Gabriella smiled at the group and shrugged like she didn't expect that she would win the game either.

"Want to play again?" She asked with a laugh.

"Yeah!" Ben said. "You're on!" He chanted competitively.

Gabriella and Troy stumbled into Troy's room after a couple more rounds of paintball. They had won every game and were chased home by the Bolton brothers. They flopped down on Troy's bed and held their stomachs as they let their laughs consume the room.

"Did you see Ben's face?" Troy laughed as he looked over at Gabriella.

"I thought he was going to kill me!" Gabriella laughed.

"You, Gabriella Montez, are amazing. I had no idea you had it in you." Troy admitted.

"Well, Troy Bolton, I like to surprise people. I'm stronger than you'd think." Gabriella said as she blinked in the darkness of the room.

A small line of moon light was coming in from Troy's window and the sound of the competitive brothers and tired wives floated into the upstairs from the kitchen.

"It's almost as if you grew up around the army." Troy laughed at the unthinkable thought.

Gabriella was just as strong as his brothers and could easily bet them at their own activities during Bolton boot camp. She was army strong. He wondered how that happened.

"I did." She said as she tilted her head to look at him; a serious look plastered on her face.

"What?"

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**You have no idea how flipping excited I am to leave it at a cliff hanger right now! I HATE when people do that to me, so I'm giving everyone a taste of their own medicine! (Laughs evily). Well, I'm going to go read chapter nine... I just love it. Review if you don't want to wait until MONDAY to get the next update! Aw, I love being the author sometimes. Thanks everyone. **

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	9. The Fight

**Hey everyone! Thank you so much! I got 33 reviews for chapter eight! I'm totally excited! Well, I wasn't actually going to leave you hanging this long, but my internet was messed up yesturday, so sorry about that! Enjoy this chapter... it's intense. **

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Army Wives

Chapter nine

The Fight

Troy sat up quickly and looked down at Gabriella. He looked confused, but Gabriella only shrugged, not up for answering any questions. She sat up slowly, but Troy stopped her before she could slide off of the bed.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"It's nothing. I didn't mean anything." She said with a shrug.

"Come on, Gabriella, I know you're keeping something from me. I heard you eavesdropping last night and you were acting weird this morning… what's going on?" He asked.

"You sure have a lot of questions." She said in a whisper.

"Well, I don't exactly like being lied to." He admitted.

An offended look appeared on Gabriella's face as she moved past Troy.

"I am not lying to you, Troy." She said.

"Then what is going on? Seriously, Gabs, something is up." He said as he watched her pace in front of his bedroom door.

"Are you going to hold the fact that I was eavesdropping over me?" She asked.

"Should I?" He asked.

"Troy." Gabriella groaned in frustration. "I had a weird conversation with the girls and it made me upset so I ended up at the top of the stairs, listening to your conversation."

"What was the conversation about?" He asked.

"Nothing." Gabriella mumbled.

"If you don't fill me in on what the conversation was then I might not be able to forgive you about eavesdropping." Troy said slowly.

"Are you actually mad about that?" Gabriella asked quickly.

"Just tell me what the conversation was about." Troy said impatiently.

"About Mike and his early training and then you and babies and Halloweens and tradition and me and army wives and maybes…" Gabriella babbled. "You know?"

"I'm sorry, you lost me at babies." Troy said with a small laugh.

"Troy! I am trying to be serious. The army is nothing to joke about." Gabriella said angrily.

"So this is about the army?" Troy asked.

"It's not just about the army. It's about the fact that I have to hear about it from _everyone_ else. When are you going to talk to me about it? I want to hear about it from you because this is going to be your life at the end of the summer!"

"I haven't decided if I'm joining yet." Troy said somewhat angrily.

"Decide." Gabriella said sharply as she stopped pacing. "Decide, Troy, so I don't have to sit by and guess what you'll be doing. I can't handle not knowing how our relationship is going to end."

"End?" Troy said as he stood up from his bed. "Who said it was ending?" He asked.

"That's not what I meant." Gabriella said as she opened the bedroom door and made her way across the hallway to her room with Troy following quickly behind her.

Gabriella walked across her bedroom and towards her bathroom, angrily throwing objects off of her body. She tossed her bracelet on her dresser before opening her bathroom door and stepping in.

"Then what do you mean?" Troy asked in annoyance from the doorway.

Gabriella was angrily trying to get her necklace off as she looked at her stressed face in the mirror.

"I don't know." She spat.

Troy groaned in frustration and pushed Gabriella's hair away from her neck, taking the necklace off quickly and tossing it on the counter.

"Are you trying to say you don't want to be with me?" Troy asked as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"No." Gabriella said quietly as she put her hands on the counter, looking down into the sink. She sighed and turned to face Troy slowly.

"I hate that you avoid talking about the army with me." She said with a disappointed shake of her head. "You openly talk about it with your family and they openly talk about it with me, but when it's you and me together no one talks about it! I'm not some fragile little girl who can't take it." She said as a sparkle of tears glazed her eyes.

"But I don't know what you can take, Gabriella!" Troy said angrily. "From the moment I met you I knew that I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life and when I was with you I thought that I could never be a part of the army because I'd be away from you… but then I come here and my brothers are all a part of it and it's what the Boltons do." Troy tried to explain.

Gabriella pushed past him and went into her room, pushing through her dresser drawers to look for some pajamas.

"If all of your brothers jumped off of a bridge would you do that too?" Gabriella asked.

"Probably." Troy said stubbornly.

"You know, Troy, whatever, but think about what else your brothers do. They miss their kids' lives. They're never with their wives, they hold off having kids, and then they expect everything to be fine once they get home…" Gabriella said as she looked at Troy directly in the eyes.

"Hey!" Troy yelled meanly. "Stop talking about my family like that!" He shouted as he got a little closer to Gabriella. "You'll never know what they go through." He said quieter.

"Fine. I guess we have it settled then. I'll never know. We're done?" Gabriella asked unevenly.

"I guess so." Troy said angrily. "Goodnight." He said as he headed for the door.

Gabriella followed him out into the hallway, grabbing a few things on her way out. She shook her head as she watched him walk through the dim hallway.

"Go to hell!" She shouted at him, chucking a few of his sweatshirts towards him as he opened his bedroom door.

"I'll meet you there!" He shouted to her, slamming the door before his clothing hit him.

Gabriella stood facing his bedroom as she breathed deeply, feeling a few tears escape from her eyes. She jumped slightly when she turned around and saw the entire Bolton family, except for Tommy and the baby, at the end of the hallway. They had shocked expressions clear on their faces and they're eyes were wide as they looked at Gabriella. Gabriella felt a sob escape from her mouth and she quickly got into her room before she could see anymore of the Bolton family.

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**Whoa! Review if you always have! Review if you havent! **

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	10. Forgiveness

**I love you all x10! I think every review had "No!" or "That's so sad!" in it! It made me laugh. Some of your predictions will be answered in this chapter so read and Enjoy! **

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Army Wives

Chapter ten

Forgiveness

Gabriella was in the Boltons' kitchen after dinner the next day. She was assigned to dish duty and after a long day of avoiding the Boltons, she was okay with being exiled to the kitchen. She had seen Troy once today and it was at dinner when she had to pass the salt shaker to him. The rest of the time she just stared at her plate and tried to pretend that the forced conversation between everyone else wasn't awkward.

She rinsed a sudsy plate off once she was done washing it and set it on a dish towel that was next to the sink. She taped her foot to a silent song that was playing in her head and glanced out of the kitchen window, only to see darkness. A few angry whispers came from the dinning room and before Gabriella had a chance to turn to see what was going on Troy was at her side, drying the already washed dishes.

Gabriella didn't say anything and neither did Troy as they went on with cleaning up the kitchen. Gabriella never looked up from the soapy water and Troy refused to even look at Gabriella. They both sensed that they were being watched by the family members in the dinning room, but they still did not talk.

Gabriella folded the dish towels and placed them over the oven handle, leaving Troy in the kitchen by himself after she was done and then went outside to the backyard. She sat on the swinging chair and looked up at the sky. The sound of the back door opening and closing was heard, but she didn't bother looking to see who was coming out. She knew before he sat down from the scent that he always carried that it was Troy.

"Sitting by me isn't going to excuse the fact that I'm mad at you." Gabriella whispered as she closed her eyes slowly.

"I still feel like you're keeping something from me." Troy said as he looked over at Gabriella.

"What if I am?" Gabriella asked.

"We need to talk about it before you pack your bags to leave." Troy said seriously.

"I already packed my bags." Gabriella admitted. "I just need a few more reasons to leave."

Troy shook his head angrily, but because he was mad at himself for letting their relationship get to this point.

"Is it too late to talk about the army with you?" He asked quietly.

"No." Gabriella replied as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I first started thinking about joining the army in high school." Troy started as he looked over at Gabriella. "It was when Zac was just starting his training for it. He would come home and he'd be really happy about it; proud that he was doing something that was good for a lot of people. I remember I would just roll my eyes when I saw him in his uniform, but at the same time I wanted to get my chance to wear one. I wanted someone to look at me the way people looked at all of my brothers."

Gabriella glanced over at Troy and nodded.

"I've grown up with the army, you know, and it's just weird to think about not being a part of the army after it has always been a part of me." Troy explained.

"Are you sure that it's what you want to do?" Gabriella asked him as she looked over at him.

"No." Troy said honestly. "I know the consequences that come with being in the army and while I want to be a part of it, I want to be a dad that is always there and a husband that isn't hurting his wife by leaving all of the time."

"I don't think you can be both." Gabriella told him in a whisper.

"I know." Troy sighed. "That's why I just don't know what I'm doing now… because I'm going to have to choose the future that will make me happiest, you know?"

Gabriella nodded sadly and looked down at her hands.

"If you leave… are you ever going to marry me?" Gabriella asked bluntly.

"After." Troy said quietly.

"That could be a really long wait." Gabriella said softly.

Troy nodded slowly and looked away from Gabriella, already seeing the added hurt to her eyes.

"I've only kept one thing from you, Troy." Gabriella said as she turned to look at him. "I kept it from you because I didn't want to relive it, but I need to tell you so you know why I get upset when people say I couldn't handle the army."

Troy nodded and took her hand in his as he scooted closer to her.

"I was nine." Gabriella started. "And I had just gotten my report card in the mail. School was already out for the summer and my dad had promised me that he'd call as soon as he could to talk about my report card."

"Where was your dad?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head, indicating that she'd get to that.

"I was in my room when I heard the doorbell ring. I ran downstairs to answer it because I knew my mom was on the phone. I opened the door…" Gabriella looked over at Troy, feeling tears ready to fall from her eyes. He squeezed her hand to continue.

"I opened the door and there were two soldiers standing on the porch and they told me to get my mom. I didn't know what was happening, but when my mom saw them she just started crying and I knew then that my dad was gone and I would never be getting that phone call from him."

"Your dad was…" Troy started, but shook his head.

"A part of the U.S. army." Gabriella whispered.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Troy asked.

"I couldn't." Gabriella said as she stood up from the swing, keeping her back towards Troy. "Not when your whole family is taking that risk." She whispered.

"Gabriella…" Troy started.

"Troy." Gabriella interrupted him. "I want you to make your decision, but just consider the fact that I can't handle answering another door to find soldiers standing on my porch. I _won't_ do it again." She whispered angrily as she left him by himself, almost running to her room to keep her tears hidden.

Gabriella felt a warm hand on her tank top covered back as she cried into her pillows after her talk with Troy. She knew Troy was there, once again, and she felt him lay down next to her, his face lying against her neck. She let herself cry as Troy held her against his body. The feeling of having him with her even after their heated fight made her love him even more, but the realization of the fact that she might have to end their relationship because of her own fear of what could be made her cry even harder.

"Everything's going to be okay, Gabriella." Troy whispered to her softly.

Gabriella sniffled and lifted herself up as she leaned against her elbows. She looked at Troy and shrugged slowly, not knowing if she could believe him. Troy leaned closer to her when he saw the doubt in her eyes and lifted his hand to brush her hair out of her face. He kissed her softly and then passionately as she slowly started to believe him, even if it was just for that moment, and Gabriella wrapped her arms around him as they continued to kiss.

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**What kind of person do you think I am? I would NEVER break up Troyella, people! :) Review if you want to! Only four more chapters left. **

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	11. Mariah Carey

**Hey everyone! You all know by now that I love you more than a key board! THANKS FOR REVIEWING! So, since the sadness is behind us for now... this is kind of a filler chapter. We haven't seen much of Ben lately... so this chapter is about Ben... and Maricah Carey? Read and Enjoy!**

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Army Wives

Chapter eleven

Mariah Carey

Gabriella squinted the morning light out of her eyes when she woke up the next morning to the sound of laughter coming through the open window in her room. She slowly sat up, making sure she didn't wake up Troy, who had fallen asleep there the night before. She walked over to the window and looked out at the front yard.

Ben was laughing as he chased the neighbor, Amy, around the front yard. They were both laughing hysterically and Ben eventually caught up with her, twirling her around as he grabbed her in his arms. He started tickling her and she laughed harder.

"Okay, I didn't mean it! I was kidding." She laughed. "Stop!"

"Only if you say 'Ben Bolton is the hottest person I have ever met'!" Ben said as he continued to tickle her.

"I'm not saying that!" Amy laughed.

"Say it or I'll keep tickling you!" Ben said with a laugh.

"Ben Bolton is the hottest person I have ever met!" She screeched.

Ben slowly stopped tickling her and she turned in his arms to look at him. She eyed him and her mouth formed into a small smile.

"That wasn't very nice." She whispered to him as she raised her eyebrow.

"That's too bad, because I'm generally a nice person." Ben said with a smile.

"You know," Amy started as she smiled at Ben. "You can let go of me any time now." She laughed.

Ben looked down at her waist where his arms were holding her securely. He blushed slightly but smiled.

"If I let go of you I might just want to tickle you again." He said with a mischievous smile.

"Then you better not let go of me." She smiled.

"I wasn't planning on it." Ben smiled back.

Amy continued to smile and noticed how Ben glanced down at her lips. She moved a little closer to him so that their bodies were now touching and she stood on the tips of her toes.

"Do you want to kiss me?" She asked as their noses touched.

"I don't know. It seems to me that you want to more." He whispered to her.

"Hmm… I can wait." She said with a smile.

"Are you sure about that?" Ben asked.

"Yup." She said with an evil grin as she moved out of his arms.

Ben smiled hugely and watched as she walked away.

"You know you want me, Ben Bolton." She said as she walked backwards, giving him a final wink before she disappeared behind the fence at her house.

Gabriella smiled hugely as she left her room and scurried down the stairs. Ben was coming into the house through the front door with a huge grin on his face. Gabriella grabbed his arms and squealed softly so she wouldn't wake anyone up.

"I saw that!" She said with a smile.

"Saw what?" Ben asked as he started to walk towards the kitchen with a blank look on his face.

"You and the neighbor." Gabriella smiled.

"Oh, right, yeah, Mr. Harrison got some of our mail in his mailbox so I was getting it back this morning… that's where I was." He smiled.

"Liar." Gabriella said simply. "I saw you with Amy."

"Amy who?" Ben asked with a shrug.

"The girl that was here a few weeks ago to get flour for her pancakes." Gabriella explained.

"I don't think I know what you're talking about." Ben said as he took a sip of his orange juice that he had gotten himself when he walked into the kitchen.

"So, you like her?" Gabriella asked with a grin as she watched Ben.

Ben looked up from his orange juice glass and barely met Gabriella's eyes.

"Like who?" Brian asked as he came into the kitchen, smiling at his son and Gabriella. Ben's eyes widened as he glanced at Gabriella.

"Mariah Carey. He won't admit that he likes her music." Gabriella smiled. "Alright, Ben, we're getting back to this discussion as soon as possible."

Ben nodded thankfully and Gabriella got two cups of coffee before she left the kitchen. She smiled when she saw Tommy walking down the hallway in his Superman pajamas and his tired eyes grew bright as he saw her.

"Morning, Aunt Gabi-ella!" He said as he walked over to her and hugged her leg.

"Morning, Tommy, how's my Superman?" She smiled as she tried to keep her coffee from spilling.

"Hungry." He stated.

"Well, your dad and brother are in the kitchen, why don't you ask them to get you something to eat." Gabriella suggested.

"Okay." Tommy said as he started to make his way towards the stairs. "I love you, Aunt Gabi-ella."

"Love you too, Tommy." She smiled as she walked towards her room.

Gabriella was about to attempt opening her bedroom door with two cups of coffee in her hands, but it opened before she could try. Troy was standing in front of her, smiling as he laid eyes on her.

"What are you doing up?" He asked.

"Bringing you coffee." Gabriella smiled as she handed a cup to him.

Troy kissed her forehead softly and smiled at her.

"You're much happier than you were yesterday. I'm happy to see you smiling again." Troy pointed out.

"I feel better now that you know about my dad. It was weird that you didn't know, I guess." Gabriella explained with a nod.

"I'm glad you told me." Troy said as he gave her a quick side hug. "Are you ready to go downstairs?" He asked.

"Yup." Gabriella said as she took his free hand and walked towards the stairs.

The rest of the Bolton family was now in the kitchen, eating breakfast and talking as usual. Ben was sitting at the kitchen counter and Gabriella smiled at him as she came into the kitchen with Troy.

"Morning, you two." Mrs. Bolton smiled as she saw the pair come into the kitchen.

"Good morning." Troy and Gabriella said together. They smiled at each other after they said it together and Troy got cereal out for the both of them.

"Looks to me like everything's okay with them now." Sarah whispered to Brian.

"Nothing can keep those two apart." Brian replied with a smile.

Gabriella sat down next to Ben as Troy went to the kitchen table and sat down next to Zac. Gabriella stirred her frosted flakes and glanced over at Ben, who was eating cereal, listening to his Ipod, and reading the sports section of the newspaper.

"So…" Gabriella said slowly as she glanced over her shoulder to make sure the family was occupied with their conversation. "Have you given any thought to Mariah Carey?" She whispered.

Ben removed the headphones from his ears and sighed as he looked at Gabriella. He smiled softly and his blue eyes sparkled.

"I haven't really thought about which song to listen to yet." He smiled.

"Well, I suggest, Kiss Her. That's one of her best." Gabriella smiled.

"That's a weird title for a song, don't you think?" Ben asked with a chuckle.

"Well, if you want my opinion…" Gabriella started.

"Do I have a choice, or are you just going to give it to me anyways?" Ben asked.

"You don't have a choice." Gabriella smiled. "I think you should listen to that one first… right now… in the front yard… she's waiting." Gabriella hinted.

Ben nodded slowly as Gabriella smirked. She had seen Amy, the neighbor, in her front yard when she was coming down the stairs with Troy. Ben slid off of the bar stool and nodded at Gabriella.

"I'm going to go see Mariah Carey." Ben said with a nod.

"Kiss Her." Gabriella whispered. "Great song."

"Right." Ben nodded.

Ben made his way out of the kitchen and Gabriella quietly slipped out too after she was done with her breakfast. She snuck up to Troy's room where she could see Ben and Amy perfectly from his window.

Ben was sitting next to Amy on the driveway. He was tracing invisible objects on her knee and she leaned against him with her head on his shoulder. He smiled as he thought about Gabriella's advice and he was quiet as he thought about it.

"Ben…" Amy said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"How far away do you live from here?" She asked as she entwined her hand with his.

"Why?" He asked as he looked at her.

"I don't know… I mean, am I going to be able to see you after you leave?" She asked.

"Don't worry about it now." Ben told her with a nod. "We'll figure it out, and besides, I said I wasn't planning on letting you go." He smiled as he looked into her eyes.

"You would be so much easier to resist if you didn't have such blue eyes." She said as she brushed a piece of his hair away from his forehead.

Ben smiled as he leaned closer to her, feeling her hand on his chest and his heart beating a little faster. She smiled back at him and leaned closer too. Ben kissed her softly and brushed her brown hair back as he did so.

Troy furrowed his brow when he walked into his room and saw Gabriella dancing around by the window. He cleared his throat, but Gabriella continued to dance.

"Uh, Gabi?" Troy said a little louder.

Gabriella stopped dancing and turned to see Troy with a sarcastic smile on his face. She laughed quietly as she shrugged.

"I'm just so happy today." She explained.

"I'm glad." Troy smiled.

Gabriella nodded and glanced out of the window. Ben and Amy were both cracking up and she smiled as she sighed. She was glad that Ben was finally starting to enjoy his summer and that is what was making her happy. Ben, well, he was glad to figure out what Bolton love felt like. Ben was starting to fall for Amy and he was starting to worry about what would happen at the end of the summer; was he actually going to leave? Troy had a similar worry running through his head as he looked at Gabriella smiling away as she thought about Mariah Carey and Ben Bolton.

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**What'd you think? Review!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	12. Mike and Troy

**Hey everyone! The reviews came slow, but I'm not complaining! That's just why I didn't update as fast as I usually do. Well, I don't really know what to say about this chapter so just read and enjoy! **

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Army Wives

Chapter twelve

Mike and Troy

Gabriella was coming out of her room a few days later after she had gotten dressed for the day. She slowed in the hallway when she got to the stairs, seeing a few bags packed at the front door. She sighed as she heard a throat cleared behind her. She turned to see Mike standing behind her with his hands in his pockets, a somewhat sad look on his face.

"Are you leaving today?" Gabriella asked.

She realized she whispered it and she cleared her throat like he had a few minutes ago. He nodded slowly and sighed.

"Is Laura up yet?" She asked him.

"She's downstairs. She's trying to keep herself busy." He told her.

Gabriella nodded and felt her eyes become heavy. She glanced down the stairs at his bags to avoid eye contact with him.

"Gabi, I'm going to be okay." Mike told her. "I've done this a million times." He reassured her.

"I know. I'm going to miss you though." Gabriella admitted. "You're like my big brother." She shrugged.

Mike smiled softly and pulled Gabriella into a brotherly hug.

"I've always wanted a sister and I'm glad you could be her." He told her with a small chuckle.

"Me too." Gabriella smiled as she hugged him tightly.

"Make sure you beat my brothers at everything you can while I'm gone, okay?" Mike said as he released her from the hug.

"I'll see what I can do." Gabriella told him with a smile.

"Okay, well, I'm going to pack my stuff in my car, I'll talk to you later." He said with a smile.

"Alright, have you seen Troy?" Gabriella asked as he made his way down the stairs.

"He went on a run. He'll be back any minute." Mike told her.

"Okay, thanks." Gabriella called after him.

Mike was stuffing his duffel bags in his trunk, knowing that he was being watched by the woman from the front window, but he never looked that way. Troy came to a stop by Mike's car as he made his way home and leaned against the car.

"Are you ready, man?" Troy asked.

Mike shrugged.

"I'm never ready." He explained as he shut the trunk and leaned against his car next to Troy.

They were looking at their house and they stood in silence for a few minutes.

"You're going to make the right choice, right?" Mike asked as he looked at his brother.

"Yeah, I think so." Troy nodded.

"You have to know. Don't just think." Mike replied. "You're letting Dad know your decision tonight, right?"

"Yeah." Troy sighed. "I'm not telling Gabriella for a while though."

"Come on, Troy, you have to tell her now that you know." Mike told his brother.

"I know, but I don't really know how to tell her." Troy explained.

"You're a Bolton. You'll find a way to. We always do." Mike said as he patted him on the back.

Mike and Laura left a few hours later. The house was quiet with them gone and everyone was in the family room where they were making small talk. Troy and Gabriella were sitting next to each other and Gabriella couldn't help but notice that Troy looked tense.

"Hey, Dad, can I talk to you in your office for a few minutes?" Troy asked after an hour or so.

"Sure, come on." Mr. Bolton said as he stood up from his spot next to his son.

The rest of the family went awkwardly silent and Sarah shifted in her spot next to Brian as Katie shot her a look. They both remembered when Zac and Brian took Mr. Bolton into his office to talk for a few minutes; when they decided to join the army.

Troy kissed Gabriella on her forehead before he followed his dad towards his office. Gabriella watched as Troy disappeared behind Mr. Bolton's office doors and she smiled awkwardly at the rest of the family.

A half hour later, Mr. Bolton came out of his office without Troy. He was smiling, but Gabriella couldn't figure out if it was a proud smile or if it looked secretive, whatever kind of smile it was, it was freaking everyone out.

"Is everything okay, Jack?" Mrs. Bolton asked as he sat down.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Troy's just making a phone call." Mr. Bolton said with a nod.

"To whom?" Mrs. Bolton asked.

"That's between me and my son." Mr. Bolton explained.

"So Dad, who was it to?" Zac said with a smile, after all, he was his son.

"You think you're so smart, don't you?" Mr. Bolton laughed.

"I _am_ your son." Zac smiled.

Mr. Bolton shook his head and everyone looked towards his office when the doors opened. Troy looked nervous as he made his way towards the family. He smiled slightly and scratched the back of his neck.

"I'm kind of tired. I'm going to go to bed." Troy explained.

"Okay." Mrs. Bolton said with a smile. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." Troy nodded.

The family nodded slowly and Troy backed up and left the room. Gabriella smiled at Mr. Bolton and stood up.

"I'm going to bed too." Gabriella told everyone.

"Goodnight, Gabriella." Mr. Bolton said with a smile.

"Night." Gabriella said as she left the room.

Gabriella slowly made her way up the stairs and she smiled slightly when she heard the family instantly start to talk.

"Jack Bolton, talk right now!" Mrs. Bolton demanded.

"Yeah, Dad, what did he choose?" Brian asked.

Gabriella sighed when Mr. Bolton didn't answer and she walked down the hallway, stopping when she saw Troy's bathroom light on. She walked into his room and leaned against the doorframe of his bathroom and smiled. He was brushing his teeth and he glanced at her before he spit.

"Did you have a good talk with your dad?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded slowly and wiped his mouth off with a bathroom towel.

"Yeah, you know, just a regular conversation." Troy explained.

"Nothing about the army?" Gabriella asked as she raised her left eyebrow.

"Not really." Troy said as he flicked the bathroom light off and moved past Gabriella.

"I'm going to pretend to believe you and get ready for bed." Gabriella said as she made her way towards his bedroom door.

"Do you want to sleep here tonight?" Troy asked as he looked through his drawers.

"Yeah, I'll be back in a few minutes." Gabriella replied as she left his room.

Gabriella tiptoed into Troy's room after changing, taking her make up off, and brushing her teeth. She laid down next to Troy and set her head on his chest. She smiled as he wrapped his arm around her.

"So, there's no life changing decisions you have to tell me?" Gabriella asked as she inhaled his scent.

"None that I can tell you right now." Troy answered honestly.

Gabriella sighed and held onto Troy a little tighter. Troy scratched her arm softly, making her eyes become heavy as she became tired.

"I love you." Gabriella whispered to him.

"I love you too." Troy whispered as Gabriella finally fell asleep. "More than you know."

Troy looked down at Gabriella who was sleeping in his arms and he sighed as he looked away, staring at the ceiling. He was nervous about how Gabriella would take his decision, but after days of thinking about it, he knew that it was the right decision for both of them.

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**In the next chapter we find out Troy's decision! I may just torture you all though and wait a bit before I update again...**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	13. The Right Thing

**Hey everyone! I'm in a very, very good mood today not only becuase I got 40 reviews for the last chapter (THANK YOU!), but because I just passed my gym class that I decided to take over the summer in order to get out of taking it during school. I had to run three miles in 35 minutes. And now I'm happy because I did. And now I'm updating. And hopefully you're excited! Here. Is. Troy's. Decision. Enjoy!**

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Army Wives

Chapter thirteen

The Right Thing

Gabriella breathed in the morning air the next morning, seeing the light from outside shinning into Troy's room. She slowly sat up to walk to the bathroom. Troy's eyes opened when he noticed Gabriella getting up. He hadn't slept much the night before, so he was aware that Gabriella was already up right away. He smiled, noticing that she seemed to sparkle a little more as she walked across his room.

He couldn't stop smiling as he watched the door close and then open quickly.

"Troy!" Gabriella screeched as she ran back into the room.

Troy smiled at her from his spot on his bed.

"Troy, oh my God!" She screeched again.

"What?" Troy asked stupidly.

"There's a ring on my finger! A very large, sparkly, diamond ring on my finger!" She said as she fanned her face with her right hand as she looked at her left.

"I figured you were screaming about that." Troy smiled.

"No way!" Gabriella screeched as she jumped on his bed and hugged him tightly. "But you were talking to your dad last night… and you made a phone call… and then the nervous look on your face…" Gabriella looked at Troy and then back at her finger.

"I was telling my dad that I wanted to marry you and I was calling your mom to ask… then I felt sick because I had to figure out how to ask you…"

"You're not going, are you?" She asked as she became teary eyed.

"I mean, if you don't want to marry me…" Troy started with a smile.

"No!" Gabriella said quickly. "I want to marry you, Troy." She smiled as she kissed him quickly. "How did you do this?" She asked with a smile.

"You're a heavy sleeper." He smiled.

"No," Gabriella laughed with a shake of her head. "How did you keep this a secret?"

"I didn't tell my family." Troy laughed.

"What?" Gabriella screeched. "They don't know?!"

"They might know now because no one can keep a secret, but maybe we should tell them." Troy said with a smile.

Gabriella jumped off of the bed and pulled Troy up, kissing him passionately before opening his bedroom door. She smiled when she saw the Bolton family pacing in the hallway.

"So…" Mr. Bolton started.

Gabriella squealed and hugged Troy as he laughed.

"Yes!" Zac and Brian said together as they gave each other a high five.

Gabriella ran to give Mr. Bolton a hug and the Bolton family joined in on the hug, forming a huge group hug.

"Welcome to the family, little sister." Brian said with a smile as he gave her his own hug.

"Thanks, big brother." Gabriella smiled.

"Let's see the ring." Zac said.

Gabriella smiled as she looked over at Troy who was talking to his mom and dad. She held up her hand and Zac gasped.

"Dude! That thing is a rock!" Zac exclaimed, getting whacked in his chest by Katie.

"Congratulations, Gabi." She smiled after giving her husband a stern look.

Sarah hugged Gabriella with excitement and her eyes were filled with happy tears.

"I'm so happy for you." She smiled.

"Aunt Gabi-ella's marrying Uncle Troy!" Tommy announced excitedly.

"So how does it feel, Aunt Gabriella?" Ben asked with a smile.

Gabriella smiled at Ben and hugged him tightly.

"Great." She smiled.

"Alright, everyone, I think this calls for a party." Mrs. Bolton said with a smile.

"We can invite the neighbors." Gabriella smiled as she elbowed Ben.

The family smiled, hugging each other a few more times before they started making lists for the grocery store and calling the neighbors. Gabriella smiled as she and Troy stood in the middle of the hallway alone. Troy turned to her and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her softly and pulled away when his cell phone started to ring. He smiled at Gabriella before he went in his room and he answered his phone.

"Hey, Mike." He smiled.

"Did you do the right thing?" Mike asked him.

"Yeah." Troy nodded surely. "I did the right thing."

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**Some of you definitly guessed it! The next chapter is the epilogue chapter... babies all the way! LOL**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


	14. Baby Bolton

**Hey everyone! Last chapter! I'm very sad! Well, I must admit that this chapter is kind of short, but I like it. Read and review one last time! Enjoy! **

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Army Wives

Epilogue

Baby Bolton

Mr. and Mrs. Bolton were pilling into their car after getting a phone call from Troy and Gabriella from the hospital six years later. Mrs. Bolton was on her third phone call, calling Zac. Mr. Bolton went quickly to the hospital and when he parked in the visitors section he saw Brian's, Mike's, and Zac's car in the parking lot as well. They ran inside and saw the rest of their family in the waiting room in the maternity wing.

"How is she?" Mrs. Bolton asked when she saw her sons and daughter-in-laws.

"All we know is that she's having the baby. They can't tell us anything else." Brian explained.

Mrs. Bolton sighed and sat down in a nearby chair, fanning her face quickly. Mr. Bolton sat down next to Zac and Katie's twin boys, smiling as they said 'hello' to him. Tommy was sitting in a chair by Brian, chewing nervously on his gum.

"How long does this take?" Tommy asked Ben, who was sitting next to his wife, Amy.

"I have no idea." Ben whispered to him.

"We've only been here for twenty minutes, guys. We could be here all day." Amy told them as she flipped through a Motherhood magazine.

"All day?" Tommy exclaimed. "Geez… I'm getting something to eat." He said as he stood up from his spot. "Want anything?"

"How can you eat in a place like this?" Ben whispered to him.

Tommy looked around the room, seeing all the pregnant women and stressed out men. Tommy slowly sat back down and closed his eyes.

"Good point." He said back.

"You guys are acting like this stuff is gross." Amy said as she set down her magazine and leaned back in her chair.

"It's uncomfortable." Tommy said. "Not a place for men."

"Men?" Ben laughed as he nudged his brother.

"Shut up." Tommy said as he shoved his brother.

"You'll be in Troy's place sooner or later." Amy told the boys honestly.

"I choose much later." Tommy said.

"You're only twelve, man. You shouldn't even be talking about that." Ben told him.

"Yeah, well, you're twenty four; you're probably already talking about it." Tommy chuckled.

Ben shoved him and gave him a look, telling him to shut up. As the boys shot each other looks, Troy walked into the waiting room. He was smiling hugely and looked tired.

"Want to come and see them?" He asked his family.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Mrs. Bolton asked as she walked next to Troy.

"You'll see." Troy smiled as he led his family to the room.

The family walked into the room and smiled as they saw Ms. Montez. They walked in a little bit further and gasped as they saw the baby wrapped in a pink blanket in Gabriella's arms. Sarah, Katie, and Laura smiled at their husbands and Mr. and Mrs. Bolton walked by Gabriella and the baby.

"Do you want to hold her?" Gabriella asked Mr. Bolton with a tired smile.

"Can I?" He asked as his face beamed with happiness.

"Of course." Gabriella smiled as she carefully handed Mr. Bolton the baby.

"Aw, Jack, she's our first granddaughter." Mrs. Bolton whispered as she looked at Mr. Bolton.

"She's special." Mr. Bolton said as he rocked her back and forth.

Gabriella smiled at Troy who was sitting next to her and she leaned against him, looking at her perfect family.

"Did you decide on a name for her?" Sarah asked Troy and Gabriella.

"Angela Mariah Bolton." Troy said with a smile.

"That's a great name." Mike said with a nod.

Mr. Bolton handed Angela over to Brian to hold and he smiled as he looked down at her.

"She has the Bolton blue eyes." He told everyone with a smile. "All the boys will be falling for her."

"Dating." Troy groaned as he looked at Gabriella with worry.

"She's not dating until she's thirty." Mr. Bolton said with a shake of his head. "Not my granddaughter."

Troy smiled at his dad and leaned back to listen to his family argue about her dating age. Tommy sat down next to Gabriella and sighed deeply.

"I drew you something in art class." He said as he pulled out a piece of paper from his jean pocket and handed it to Gabriella.

She smiled as she unfolded the piece of paper and looked at the portrait of the entire Bolton family.

"Wow, Tommy." Gabriella gasped. "You really turned into an artist, didn't you?" She smiled.

"Yeah, I guess." Tommy nodded.

"How'd you know we were going to have a girl?" She asked as she saw the baby girl in the picture.

"I don't know. You always make something different happen with this family… I had a feeling you'd have a girl." He smiled.

"Thanks, Tommy. This is going right on the refrigerator when I get home." She smiled.

"I'm glad you're a part of the Bolton family, Aunt Gabriella." He said as he nodded.

"Me too, Tommy, me too." She smiled as she hugged him tightly.

Troy and Gabriella smiled at each other, happy that the Bolton family was all with them, retired from the army, and safe. Laura and Mike exchanged a look as Laura looked down at her large stomach, laughing as they thought about their baby boy. Ben looked at Amy who was smiling brightly as she looked at the baby in his arms and smiled himself. They were all happy and together, ready to add to the Bolton family and glad that they didn't have to worry about the army anymore.

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**They're all grown up! Sorry about the short, quick chapter, I didn't really know how to end it. Well, I don't really know what to say now, but keep an eye out for my new stories! I have many to post!**

**Much love,**

**unknownbyhim22**


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